CHICAGO – In 1963, Judy Garland had a CBS-TV variety series, and in December there was a Christmas episode featuring her kids … including Liza Minnelli. Playwright Desiree Burcum and the comedy troupe FAMOUS IN THE FUTURE have created (click link) ”A Judy Christmas” as a stage play.
Den Theatre
Podtalk: Comedian Liz Miele at Chicago’s Den Theatre, Oct. 22, 2023
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 18, 2023 - 1:07pmCHICAGO – Stand-up comic Liz Miele is a true comedy veteran, even in her current youth. She began her career at age 16 and has kept up with the evolution of both comedy and reaching an audience, as evidenced by her YouTube specials garnering millions of views. She brings her act to Chicago on October 22nd, 2023 (7:15pm), at the Den Theatre on Milwaukee Avenue. For tickets and info, click LIZ MIELE.
Podtalk: Frank Carr on YippieFest, August 19-21, 2022, at the Den Theatre in Chicago
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 16, 2022 - 10:10amCHICAGO – YippieFest, one of the great performance festivals in Chicago, is returning this upcoming weekend, August 19th, 20th and 21st at the Den Theatre in the Wicker Park neighborhood. Friday the 19th is music night, with a night of bands and groups, and Saturday/Sunday will be performance, with theatre, comedy, stand-up, dance and more.
Podtalk: Exec Director Frank Carr of 2022 YIPPIE FEST, Calling for Acts to Perform, Aug. 19-21
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 21, 2022 - 1:44pmCHICAGO – YIPPIE! It’s back. Coming off two years of cancellations, the performance event YIPPIE FEST 2022 will take place from Friday, August 19th through Sunday, August 21at at the Den Theatre, 1331 North Milwaukee, Chicago. Currently, the Fest is calling for acts, with music and stand up comedy slots already filled, but any other type of performance, sketch, improv or theatre. This is your opportunity to perform, so sign up by clicking YiPPIE FEST 2022.
Podtalk: Susan Messing for the World Comedy Expo Chicago, March 25-27, 2022
Submitted by PatrickMcD on March 25, 2022 - 8:54amCHICAGO – She is one of the best and most established improv artists in Chicago, the City of Yes-And. Susan Messing makes history wherever she goes, including her residency at the Annoyance Theatre with her famous “Messing with a Friend” revue, an ongoing and completely improvised hour of hilarity. Messing will be a part of the inaugural World Comedy Expo (natch), performing two shows (click link for tickets and info), MESSING WITH MASON, THE 1-Zs and plus facilitating a workshop, IMPROV FOR STAND UP.
Theater Review: Firebrand Theatre’s ‘Always… Patsy Cline’ is Crazy Good in Chicago
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 22, 2019 - 6:07pmCHICAGO – In Ken Burns recent PBS documentary “Country Music,” there was a considerable segment of Episode Four dedicated to singer Patsy Cline. The voice that made the song “Crazy” one of the most played jukebox hits in history is the subject of a current musical revival by Chicago’s Firebrand Theatre.
Theater News: Rich Cotovsky at Final ‘Abbie Hoffman Died for Our Sins’ Fest From Aug. 19-21, 2016
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 19, 2016 - 7:04amCHICAGO – It’s 3am on Saturday night/Sunday morning on August 20th, and you’re just not ready to quit. How about indulging in the 2016 “Abbie Hoffman Died for Our Sins” Theater Festival? The three-day theater marathon is in its 28th edition, and will be sponsored for the final time by the Mary-Arrchie Theatre Company, and hosted by the “Godfather of Storefront Theater,” Rich Cotovsky. It all takes place at the Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee in Chicago (details below).
Interview: John Michael is the One-Man Show in ‘Dementia Me’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 15, 2016 - 10:28amCHICAGO – No one would call talented one-man-show artist John Michael conventional, at least if they are in their right mind. So ironically, after tackling sexually transmitted disease in his last solo performance, he takes on the vagrancies of old age and caring for elderly patients in his truly heartfelt “Dementia Me.”
Theater Review: ‘New Country’ is Original, Exuberant & Poignant
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 23, 2016 - 3:47pmCHICAGO – The Country Music industry has become as huge as any category of music entertainment. So Mark Roberts, the creator of the TV sitcom “Mike & Molly,” has fashioned a boisterous new play about the machinations of that genre of music industry, and gave it the plaintive title of “New Country.”
Theater Review: Sharp ‘References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 3, 2014 - 9:15amCHICAGO – In “References to Salvador Dali Makes Me Hot,” now at the Den Theatre in Chicago through September 7th, the intersect of author José Rivera and the strong cast of actors make for a formidable partnership. Committed and passionate interpreters take both the soft and edgy parts of the narrative to task.
